At least 9 soldiers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) under the command of Riek Machar have been killed in renewed clashes in Unity State’s capital Bentiu.
A source who spoke to The City Review from Bentiu said the SPLA-IO camp in the southern part of the capital was attacked on Friday by forces suspected to belong to the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF).
In a phone interview, the source claimed that forces loyal to the Commissioner of Koch County spearheaded the attack.
“The attack started this [Friday] afternoon and the commissioner is not at the county headquarters. He has moved to the cantonment side,” he said.
“The forces killed 9 people from the SPLA-IO. From their side, two people were injured. The situation is very bad here in Bentiu,” the source added.
Both SPLA-IO and SSPDF Spokespersons, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel and Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang could not comment on the latest clashes as their phones rang unanswered.
Last week, however, Lam said the SPLA-IO forces were being attacked by forces under the command of the Koch County Commissioner.
“The attack is from Koch county commissioner, but the SSPDF is responsible for command and control of the Kit Gwang [forces]. Therefore, they should have restrained them instead of being used by politicians to gain political status,” Lam told this publication.
He added that completing the security arrangements was the only way to avert the spate of military confrontations.
“Completion of the security arrangements is the only way forward. War by proxy cannot bring peace but more violence and displacement of innocent civilians.”
SSPDF denies
In a rebuttal, Lul denied the claims saying there was no commissioner commanding the SSPDF in Mirmir.
“The commissioner of Koch County does not have forces under his command; we don’t have our forces that are being commanded by the commissioner. We have our regular commander who commands our troops. So, in the first place, the accusation on that basis that our commissioner ordered forces to attack them is not true because, we don’t have forces at Mirmir, our forces are in Leer,” he said.